To:                     Members of the Center Grove Community School Corporation

From:                Charles Garcia, President, Center Grove Education Foundation

   Dr. Steven Stephanoff, Superintendent, Center Grove Community School

   Corporation

In recent months the Center Grove Education Foundation has discussed ways it might make a significant impact to support the outstanding efforts under way in the Center Grove Community School Corporation.

The foundation is pleased to announce a commitment to a system-wide emphasis on grant support.

This is a change in the foundation’s grant-making process. Shortly after its founding in 1998, the foundation instituted a grants program. Initially, the foundation offered its grants program once each academic year. With the community’s good support, the foundation expanded to two grant cycles each academic year.

Beginning this fall, the foundation will identify a system-wide focus for a grants award.

Each year the foundation will consider a system-wide grant emphasis, in alignment with goals identified by the administration and board, commitment to meeting Indiana Department of Education standards and addressing differentiation of needs at the elementary, middle school and high school levels. The focus of emphasis will be determined by the foundation on an annual basis in consultation with an administrator of the Center Grove Community School Corporation. The administrator will work with the foundation’s Grants Committee to help identify system-wide points of emphasis/need.

The focus for the 2008-09 academic year will be a $10,000 commitment to science education. This focus on science complements the earlier science commitment received by the Center Grove Education Foundation from the Praxair Foundation for a grant used for the corporation’s robotics program.

 The $10,000 in Center Grove Education Foundation funds will be distributed as follows:

·         $500 to each elementary school (six schools) for a total of $3,000 focused on science education

·         $1,500 to each middle school (two schools) for a total of $3,000 focused on science education

·         $3,000 to the high school science department

·         $1,000 to fund substitute teaching costs so Center Grove elementary teachers can receive professional development/training in science. Training is to be for science efforts funded by the overall grant.

Dr. Janet Boyle, assistant superintendent for curriculum, will work with the elementary schools, middle schools and high school on implementation of these funds. She will work

·         with elementary school principals and teachers to identify use of science funds so that Center Grove strives to achieve science education consistency from school  to school and oversee the use of funds allotted to pay for substitute teachers when Center Grove teachers are seeking science training to complement the science funds allotted for their schools through this grant.

·         will work with middle school principals/teachers to identify use of science funds to strive for middle school science education consistency.

·         will work with the high school principal/science department for department-wide use of funds.

The foundation is pleased that members of its Grants Committee who have contacts with area businesses and corporations will work to seek resources to provide training/programming in the Center Grove Community School Corporation.

The foundation has been honored to recognize two Center Grove leaders through its existing grants program.

·         The efforts of Dr. Denney French, superintendent from 1991 to 2000, are recognized through the Dr. Denney French History Award of up to $1,000.

·         The support of Steve Lammert, Center Grove alumnus and former school board and CGEF board member, is recognized through the Steve Lammert Science and Technology Grant of up to $1,000.

Those awards will continue and will be made during the spring semester of each academic year. Application deadline for the French and Lammert awards will be at 4 p.m. Friday, March 20, 2009. The foundation’s website will have applications and guidelines posted.

The foundation is pleased that the fall grants award provides an opportunity to enrich the entire Center Grove Community School Corporation and the spring effort (French and Lammert awards) will provide educational funds for two individuals in the corporation.